Thermomix hamburgers

I like to make my own hamburgers because then I know what’s in them. No sawdust or possum!

It can be done in a food processor, but naturally I use the Thermomix.

What you’ll need (although apart from the meat, it’s pretty much up to you):

About 500 g beef mince (I buy King Island mince because it’s pasture-fed)
Some greenery (I’ve used parsley and nettle here—did you know nettles have 8 times more iron than beef?)
An egg
Large onion or a couple of small ones
Some garlic (quantity up to you)
Some herbs (I’ve used zaatar this time—a sort of stronger version of oregano. I’m told it’s used in Lebanese cooking)
Tomato puree or tomato relish
Anything else you fancy (that’s dried pumpkin in the photo)
Salt, pepper, whatever (I used dried flakes of Mountain Pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata), because I’m growing it.

Put the greenery, etc, onions and garlic into the Thermomix and chop a couple of seconds. Speed 6-7 will do:

Add the egg, the mince and some tomato puree/relish and give it all a gentle stir. If it looks a bit on the wet side add some LSA* mix to dry it off. I added it anyway, for extra goodness.

Set the dial to closed lid position and knead the mixture for 3-4 minutes on interval speed. Check the consistency and add more LSA or puree as needed.

Tip it all out onto the bench or your Thermomat and divide into roughly 12 portions:

Now get hold of a large tray that will take a dozen hamburgers and sprinkle some seeds or similar stuff over it. I used sesame seeds, oat bran and some dukkah (also made in the Thermomix):

Now here’s the nifty bit. Use egg rings to form the burgers. Put a dollop of mince in each ring and flatten with a spatula. When you’ve done the lot (and removed the rings) sprinkle more of the mixture over their tops:

Voila!

The tray goes into the freezer and when they’re frozen, pack them away in a container. It’s much easier to do this when they’re frozen.

What about wallabies and roos?! I hear wallaby waffles are “interesting” and K.F.C. style Kangaroo has got to be a winner ;). If our chooks were still out there would be a degustatory menu for them alone but they are safe now that they are inside their coop 😉

I’m still a bit confused as to what Zaatar actually is. I’ve seen it referred to as a mixture of things, mostly herbs, but I bought my seeds from Green Harvest and they give its botanical name as Origanum syriaca (?Syrian oregano), and they say it’s a relative of oregano and native to the Mediterranean. Herbaceous perennial herb to 40 cm, used to flavour hummus, dips and soups, etc.